Sculpture

A SCULPTURE is a three-dimensional artwork. It’s not flat, or two-dimensional, like a painting. A sculpture might be CARVED or BUILT and can be made from many kinds of materials. Sculptors might get their inspiration from people, places, and things. Some sculptures are lifelike while others are abstract.

Twist and Create

The artist Frank Stella used molten aluminum, or liquid metal, to create the twists and turns you see below. This sculpture hangs on a wall like a painting and may look two-dimensional when you first see it. Click on the image below from different angles. When you view it from the side, you can see it’s actually a three-dimensional sculpture.

An aluminum pipe and cast aluminum sculpture consists of thick silver pipes curving into a large circular coil. Within the center and extending toward our right, cast aluminum sections with jagged edges and stepped, wavy textures overlap. A pod-like form hangs at the bottom, joined to the main mass by a narrow textured arm. The surfaces contrast between the smooth finish of industrial pipes and the rough patterns of the cast sections.
Çatal Hüyük (level VI B) Shrine VI B.1, 2001. Frank Stella. 2001.126

See the alternate views

Try It! Using a sheet of aluminum foil, experiment with all the ways that you can transform it from a two-dimensional sheet to a three-dimensional object. Try rolling it, twisting it, folding it, and more. Once you’ve explored all the ways you can change your foil, create your own sculpture inspired by the one above. Will you hang your sculpture on a wall or display it on top of a surface? You decide! Don’t have aluminum foil at home? Try using regular paper. Share your creations with #CMAatHome.

Musical Poses

Artists often use human figures as the inspiration, or muse, for their sculptures. Take a look at the  sculptures below. Gather your family and friends and try imitating the poses. Which pose was the easiest? Which pose was the hardest? What kind of music do you think these sculptures are listening to?

A white marble sculpture depicts Terpsichore Lyran, a muse standing next to a square column on which stands a lyre, a small, u-shaped harp. She wraps her left arm around the lyre, grasping its outer edge as she leans against the column, looking to her right, her legs crossed. She wears a tunic wrapped around her in rippling folds. A band wraps around her curly hair, pulled back in a ponytail with ringlets framing her face.
Terpsichore Lyran (Muse of Lyric Poetry), 1816. Antonio Canova. 1968.212
A dark bronze sculpture depicts a nude woman balancing on her bent left leg. Leaning forward, she lowers her head toward the sole of her right foot, which she holds in front of her. Her left arm is bent and raised behind her. Roughly modeled gouges and indentations texture the surface throughout. The figure stands on a thin, rectangular bronze base.
Dancer Looking at the Sole of Her Right Foot, 1896–97. Edgar Degas. 2028.1947
A bronze sculpture depicts a deity with four arms standing in the middle of a ring of fire. The deity is wearing a headdress and his left leg is standing on a smaller figure while his right leg is up. His back left and right arms are up and bent and his front left and right arms are forward, with his right palm facing us and left hand down.
Nataraja, Shiva as the Lord of Dance, 1000s. South India, Tamil Nadu, Chola period. 1930.331

Try It! Create your own poses! Pick one person to be the “Sculptor.” Everyone else is a “Muse.” The Sculptor will pick a song, and while it is playing the Muses will dance. When the Sculptor pauses the song, all the Muses will pose and freeze like a statue. The Sculptor will pick the Muse with the best pose and then switch roles with the winner. Keep going until everyone has had a chance to be the Sculptor.

Extra Challenge

Sculptures can be created from different materials. The sculptures above are made from aluminum, marble, and bronze. Take a look at this sculpture made of glass. How is it different from the ones above? How do you think the artist made it?

A birdlike figure is crafted from vibrant, translucent glass. Its rounded red body sits on a short, dark red stem and circular base. A head of blue and amber tapers into a long, pointed red beak. At the rear, two overlapping discs in blue and green form a tail. The entire surface is smooth and polished, with light glinting off the reflective highlights.
Flycatcher Bird, c. 1975. Oiva Toikka. 1994.218

Some artists carve into stone to create their sculptures. Others use different tools. Like the aluminum and bronze sculptures above, the artist Oiva Toikka used heat to fuse the glass pieces together. Let’s create a sculpture using the opposite: ice.

Materials:

  • Ice cubes (You can make different sizes using Tupperware or a muffin tin.)
  • Food coloring (optional)
  • A surface that can get wet (Use a baking sheet or go outside if the weather permits!)

Make your ice cubes by pouring water into a Tupperware container, muffin tin, or a traditional ice cube tray. If you have food coloring, you can add color to your ice cubes. Once they’re fully frozen (typically three to four hours), place your ice cubes on a safe surface like a baking sheet, driveway, or sidewalk. Arrange your ice cubes to create a sculpture. You may have noticed that ice looks a lot like glass. But hurry—unlike glass, ice melts! If you have room in your freezer, you can place your creation there and let the cold temperature meld your ice cubes together. Eventually your sculpture will melt, so don’t forget to take a picture and share it with #CMAatHome.

 

Çatal Hüyük (level VI B) Shrine VI B.1, 2001. Frank Stella (American, b. 1936). Aluminum pipe and cast aluminum; 246.3 x 322.4 x 231 cm. Gift of Agnes Gund and Daniel Shapiro and John L. Severance Fund, 2001.126. © Frank Stella / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Terpsichore Lyran (Muse of Lyric Poetry), 1816. Antonio Canova (Italian, 1757–1822). Marble; 177.5 x 78.1 x 61 cm. Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund, 1968.212

Dancer Looking at the Sole of Her Right Foot, 1896–97. Edgar Degas (French, 1834–1917). Bronze; 46.4 x 21.6 x 20.3 cm. Hinman B. Hurlbut Collection, 2028.1947

Nataraja, Shiva as the Lord of Dance, 1000s. South India, Tamil Nadu, Chola period (900–1200s). Bronze; 113 x 102 x 30 cm; base: 35 x 24 cm. Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1930.331

Flycatcher Bird, c. 1975. Oiva Toikka (Finnish, 1931–2019). Glass; 25.7 cm. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel H. Lamport, 1994.218